Is Dublin city in a seasonal onslaught of seagull noise pollution?

Ronan.p

The last two summer's I have noticed that seagull noise at early morning time has been on the increase in the greater south Dublin city area. Has anyone else noticed this problem?
Is there anyway to cull seagulls?

Larianne

Yes, the bastards are waking me up every morning now! :mad:

It's only been in the past week though. It's not because I've the windows open the past week. I sleep with my top window open all the time.

P.S. I like how you posted a pic of one, just in case someone didn't know what you are talking about. :pac:

HeidiHeidi

Well if there is, I'll offer to help :mad:

These feckers set up shop on the roofs across the road from me and screech from dawn for about two months every summer - it'd drive a saint to drink.

I'm told it's because it's the nesting season, and they're all busy being uber-protective. Or something.

And don't get me started on the magpies chattering wildly on the telegraph pole outside my bedroom window :mad::mad::mad:

I'm all for wildlife, but I like a night's sleep as well!

Cookie_Monster

Ronan.p wrote: »

Is there anyway to cull seagulls?

there are plenty but not legal ones, in fact I believe several species are endangered and protected.

starviewadams

Gulls eggs have just hatched in the past week or so,so they are very protective of their nests and are searching for more and more food to sustain themselves and their new chicks.

Ronan.p

Your totally correct cookie monster but it seems the large gull with the yellow beak are the ones in full voices and in larger numbers due to there aggressive nature.

RATM

I think a part of the problem is how waste is disposed by restaurants / take aways in Dublin city centre. I've a mate who lives in Temple Bar very near a well known kebab shop and I can confirm that seagulls like kebabs just as much as the general population does. I've seen huge fat seagulls twice their normal size in Temple Bar due to the amount of junk food they are eating on a daily basis.

I don't know what the rubbish collection times are in the city center but some food businesses put their waste out way before the pick up time and this encourages seagulls to have a feast. These gulls should be out at Dollymount or Howth chasing field mice and fish, not hanging around rooftops in Temple Bar waiting to pounce on another bag of kebabs and chicken fillets.

gurramok

Don't live near sources of food(those restaurants) or live near rivers, canals or by the sea, then your problem is solved.

Hownowcow

The gull shown in the picture is a herring gull. While they are a seabird they also live in cities. Tall buildings are probably cliff in their eyes, and they nest on a number of them around the city. Most people in Dublin don't appear to pay much heed to them until they are in close proximity and then can be quite shocked at how large they are. They are opportunists and will eat almost anything. Years ago I saw one of them take a duckling in Stephens Green.

The noise they create is very irritating, they can be aggressive and in large numbers quite threatening. I believe a number of councils in the UK have taken action against them.

I love the description, earlier in the thread, of the fat seagulls. In the words of the song "everybody knows fat birds don't fly".

Duggys Housemate

gurramok wrote: »

Don't live near sources of food(those restaurants) or live near rivers, canals or by the sea, then your problem is solved.

Unless you live in Bath England, nowhere near a coast.

They are encroaching, these gulls. I worry for the people of Navan.

gurramok

Duggys Housemate wrote: »

Unless you live in Bath England, nowhere near a coast.

They are encroaching, these gulls. I worry for the people of Navan.

Where I am, you'd be lucky to see a gull, crows and magpies rule the nest here

When I last lived in Ringsend, the gulls were everywhere with hardly a crow in sight!

Miss Lockhart

I live in Lucan and they are very prevalent here. The racket they make in the early morning is incredible and it is definitely increasing year on year.

Bath in England is really plagued by them - you can hear them no matter where you are morning, noon and night. I'd hate for Dublin to get that bad.

ProudDUB

No way is it a seasonal thing. I love to sleep with my windows open, and one of the reasons I moved away from the IFSC was to escape the year 'round racket from the seagulls. The bastids would wake me up at 4am, regular as clock work, all year around. I live in Sutton now, right beside the sea, and I hardly ever hear them. I see them often enough, but I hardly ever hear them. Go figure !

tricky D

ProudDUB wrote: »

No way is it a seasonal thing. I love to sleep with my windows open, and one of the reasons I moved away from the IFSC was to escape the year 'round racket from the seagulls. The bastids would wake me up at 4am, regular as clock work, all year around. I live in Sutton now, right beside the sea, and I hardly ever hear them. I see them often enough, but I hardly ever hear them. Go figure !

Try living the other side of the hill. It's much different to Strand Road for example. The reason you get so few is there's nowhere near as much scrap food available unlike Howth with plenty of scraps from restaurants and other rubbish, whereas Sutton is almost totally residential in comparison. Their main food source in Sutton Creek would be the likes of crabs from under seaweed clumps when the tide is out. There's also better nesting available in Howth. As for seasonality, gulls, especially the herring gulls, as in the OP, have been at it for the last 2/3 months at almost any hour of the day. The noise can be something else and they are often so drunk on hormones. After the shagging, comes the chicks with the noise they make and their parents protecting them and the nests. It's a nightmare if they manage to hatch one anywhere near your house.

loveisdivine

I find human noise pollution much more irritating, loud and never ending. If people were not so dirty when it comes to their own waste then there wouldn't be so many gulls.
One of the main reasons they are here is because of all the food. They will go wherever they can get plenty of easy food and whilst people continue to drop their litter/uneaten food on the floor and business's leave their refuse on the street then there will be animals waiting to take advantage.

I do feel for you though. Most sunny afternoons in our back garden are ruined by the screaching of children and subsequent "telling off's" by the parents. I wish we could cull that noise off too.

chris_d

i live in a top floor apartment in the north inner city. i think they are awesome.

look at the head on the fella on that picture there, proper mental.

and they are massive.

more wildlife.

gctest50

Could be worse

GHOST MGG

lol..thats one of the funniest things ive ever seen ^^^

RATM

tricky D wrote: »

Try living the other side of the hill. It's much different to Strand Road for example. The reason you get so few is there's nowhere near as much scrap food available unlike Howth with plenty of scraps from restaurants and other rubbish, whereas Sutton is almost totally residential in comparison. Their main food source in Sutton Creek would be the likes of crabs from under seaweed clumps when the tide is out. There's also better nesting available in Howth. As for seasonality, gulls, especially the herring gulls, as in the OP, have been at it for the last 2/3 months at almost any hour of the day. The noise can be something else and they are often so drunk on hormones. After the shagging, comes the chicks with the noise they make and their parents protecting them and the nests. It's a nightmare if they manage to hatch one anywhere near your house.

I heard the Sutton seagulls are a better class than the seagulls over in Howth, is there any truth in that ?

goose2005

Maybe we could set up some sort of employment scheme by getting junkies to keep hawks.

ProudDUB

RATM wrote: »

I heard the Sutton seagulls are a better class than the seagulls over in Howth, is there any truth in that ?

The Sutton seagulls are loike totes amazeballs, loike roysh ! I feed moine points of Heino roysh

I've always lived in Howth and I don't hear the seagulls.

Every person who has every stayed in my house claims they've been woken and tormented by seagulls, but my ears seem to just filter them out, so it's not that they don't make noise, it's that I just don't hear them (similar to not smelling fish very well, whereas many people who visit Howth claim the whole seafront smells of fish...).

I think they're kind of cute as long as they're not in large numbers (and as long as I'm not trying to eat a bag of chips). They run along my roof and sometimes they come to the back door and knock with their beaks for some scraps.

HeidiHeidi

They're building up to a racket of epic proportions around my way lately..... they started at 5.30am this morning, and a bit later I could hear what sounded like a HUGE gang of them screeching away nearby - thankfully far enough away not to keep me awake, but I felt very sorry for whoever's roof they were on!

In a normal "summer" I could just close the windows, but not an option these days (a good complaint )

finch

I just moved to the blackpitts area, dublin 8 and every morning at 5.30 they are screeching their heads off. I want to move again its awful. I used to livein Rathmines and never had noise issues. I thought it might be a bit noisier in town but not fro the birds

mrDerek

cull seagulls because you cant get a nights sleep? lol go and ****e, maybe where you live the seagulls are the main noise causers but where i live D20 its all types of birds making noise i just get on with it, besides i prefer birds chirping to the poxy arsehole 2 doors down with the dodgey alarm

on a lighter note some giant ass seagull was teasing me dogs after landing in the kids pool and didnt shift for a good 30 seconds dont think the dogs knew what it was they are used to the much smaller magpies taking the piss with them

I thought I was the only one annoyed with the them. They're up at 5.30 every morning in Ballsbridge screaming their heads off and flying around the place for no reason. I saw them in the pond in Stephen's Green last week, pretending to be swans, dirty rotten b*astards!

kylith

If it's not the gulls it's the magpies in my area. Driving me flipping mental from about 0530 onward.

wheres me jumpa

Getting the same in Beaumont. Last night seemed particualarly bad.

scarlet_mandy

Beaumont is particularly bad, where we are anyway, had me up at 4:30 last week a good few mornings :-( this is with tripple glazing and windows closed. Can't sleep coz too warm, open window and it's too loud, can't win!

wheres me jumpa

scarlet_mandy wrote: »

Beaumont is particularly bad, where we are anyway, had me up at 4:30 last week a good few mornings :-( this is with tripple glazing and windows closed. Can't sleep coz too warm, open window and it's too loud, can't win!

Triple glazing, very fancy, I suppose you had your butler go scatter the seagulls?!

Strumms

Last few nights in Glasnevin have been mental.. I don't sleep to well in general and with the heat like most people need the windows open... The last few nights and Sunday night in particular sounded like a full on battle of the skies from about 4am onwards. And the ****ers shat on my car !

scarlet_mandy

wheres me jumpa wrote: »

Triple glazing, very fancy, I suppose you had your butler go scatter the seagulls?!

Ha ha yes indeed, he dismissed them accordingly :-)

miss no stars

They're overpopulated. That's why they're straying inland. The cliffs are all full so the fcukers are nesting on rooftops. They're vermin and overpopulated vermin at that. Time for a cull.

Oh and don't get me started on the vermin that sit there throwing chips at them to make sure they get a good dinner, maybe the population would be in normal numbers if half the eejits in the city didn't insist on feeding them directly, then just discarding the end of their chips for them to eat. Grr.

kylith

miss no stars wrote: »

They're overpopulated. That's why they're straying inland. The cliffs are all full so the fcukers are nesting on rooftops. They're vermin and overpopulated vermin at that. Time for a cull.

Oh and don't get me started on the vermin that sit there throwing chips at them to make sure they get a good dinner, maybe the population would be in normal numbers if half the eejits in the city didn't insist on feeding them directly, then just discarding the end of their chips for them to eat. Grr.

The state of the place with food thrown everywhere is something else, and is definitely attracting gulls.

Chucking food around is one of my peeves; it's really stressful to walk my dogs because there's nowhere I can go that's not covered in bread, chips, crisps, chicken wings, rib bones, and any other thing they've got bored of sticking in their mouth so they chuck on the floor, so half the time I'm dragging the dogs away from the food rather than enjoying a nice walk in the sunshine.

annsie

I live in Glasnevin too and its so bad around here. Every morning at 4/5am it begins. I swear they must be all gang raping eachother or something. I don't know how they are a 'protected species' when there is far too many of them.
I did notice however that glasnevin isn't the most cleanest of areas.. especially around the shops and chippers so it's no wonder they're around here in particular.
I did read that alka selser in a slice of bread will help the situation!!

Strumms

During a brief break in the rain about 30 minutes ago one of them was out giving it socks.. Almost calling the rest out 'to play' I should imagine but it pissed down again and he buggered of lively...

HeidiHeidi

If they'd perform a public service and eat all those disgusting slugs and snails that were sliming around in the damp the other night, I might be inclined to look on them a BIT more favourably. Not a lot though, my overwhelming urge is to take a shotgun to them at 6am every morning.

GSF

Was attacked by one of these whilst walking along the Grand Canal in D2 at the weekend. There was a chick ( well half grown ugly sprog) on the pavement and this angry parent flying above us and dive bombing us, obviously thinking we were going to make off with its ugly offspring. They are quite frightening aggressive, even by inner city Dub standards!

gurramok

scarlet_mandy wrote: »

Beaumont is particularly bad, where we are anyway, had me up at 4:30 last week a good few mornings :-( this is with tripple glazing and windows closed. Can't sleep coz too warm, open window and it's too loud, can't win!

Use earplugs.

HeidiHeidi wrote:

If they'd perform a public service and eat all those disgusting slugs and snails that were sliming around in the damp the other night

Having a sensational problem with nature are we?:rolleyes:

elfy4eva

Yea i remember Back to school time with the gulls,
they used to hover over the yard for discarded
sandwiches etc. Got Sh*t on more than once by the
dirty feckers!

annsie

My mam is always throwing scraps up on the shed roof for them (she lives in drumcondra) within seconds the gulls appear, probably from Glasnevin... but they spend ages flying over the food which is clearly just about enough for one bird. Originally it's just one gull that appears to find the food, they start squawking and after afew minutes loads come.
After awhile, one eventually gets the food and the others go bananas.
Does anybody know why the first bird to find the food doesn't just take it instead of calling all the other feckers???

Inbox

They are making a nuisance in Raheny and Artane as well. My mam is just in the door from a walk around the Howth harbour and she said there is hundreds of them out there and there was a guy feeding them a sliced pan :rolleyes:

GSF

I refuse to believe there is a recession in Ireland when guys can still afford to feed sliced pans to the birds.

kylith

annsie wrote: »

My mam is always throwing scraps up on the shed roof for them (she lives in drumcondra) within seconds the gulls appear, probably from Glasnevin... but they spend ages flying over the food which is clearly just about enough for one bird. Originally it's just one gull that appears to find the food, they start squawking and after afew minutes loads come.
After awhile, one eventually gets the food and the others go bananas.
Does anybody know why the first bird to find the food doesn't just take it instead of calling all the other feckers???

Probably because they know the first bird to land will be mobbed, so no-one wants to be the first bird.

GSF

annsie wrote: »

Does anybody know why the first bird to find the food doesn't just take it instead of calling all the other feckers???

Coz they dont have seagulls in Cavan

Pepe LeFrits

There's an extremely verbose seagull civilisation developing on my roof. I fear they plan to overthrow me and take the apartment

Collie D

Got crapped on by one on Liffey Street at lunch time. Actually got two of us. Good shot to be fair

Benedict

Seagulls have become an absolute scourge in Dublin. They are literally taking over the city and ruining our lives.

They need to be classed as vermin so that citizens can kill them - once it is not done in a cruel way.

Citizens can kill rats - why not seagulls?

endacl

Benedict wrote: »

Seagulls have become an absolute scourge in Dublin. They are literally taking over the city and ruining our lives.

They need to be classed as vermin so that citizens can kill them - once it is not done in a cruel way.

Citizens can kill rats - why not seagulls?

Hysterical post, on zombie thread.

Double whammy!

power pants

walking home yesterday and saw a horrible sight

saw a dead pigeon and standing inside the birds guts was a seagull eating his guts etc

I was standing outside eating my lunch yesterday and some wanker of a seagull was trying to actually intimidate me. Was walking up to me within inches, then flying around my head

little bastard

Benedict

This matter was raised in the Senate and there were sniggers. Those sniggering might not be sniggering today - the seagull problem has grown dramatically. From first light to when the sun goes down these airborne vermin are causing serious noise pollution in our city - I wonder is it also happening in Galway and Cork?

There is nothing funny about being woken at 4.30 or 5 every morning by screaming gulls swooping and diving between buildings.

The birds are designed for life on the sea shore where they need to be heard over wind and surf - does anyone know why they have now decided that they prefer down-town living?